Talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war are still in progress, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for one, is hopeful. On Monday, however, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that one enormous sticking point remains unsolved—Russia's claim to captured territory in the east. "Putin wants legal recognition to what he has stolen, to break the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty," Zelensky said, per CBS News. "That's the main problem. You all understand what that means."
Ukrainian negotiators, meanwhile, were returning home from Geneva to brief Zelensky on the weekend talks, per the New York Times. "Based on these reports, we will determine the next steps and the timing," Zelensky tweeted. President Trump wants the Ukraine leader to agree to a deal by Thursday and has threatened to pull all US support if he doesn't. And Russia says it will pursue more territorial gains if Ukraine rejects the 28-point plan brokered by the US and backed by Trump.
The peace plan has drawn concern from Ukraine's European allies, who see it as overly favorable to Moscow. Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Olga Stefanishyna, told CBS News on Sunday that it prioritizes putting an end to the fighting but doesn't address core issues such as Russia's aggression.